Brennan Johnson Joins Everton: A New Hero for David Moyes
Lee Trundle has no doubts. In his eyes, Everton have just landed a forward made for David Moyes and for a fanbase that has been desperate for a new hero.
Brennan Johnson’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium from Crystal Palace, sealed as part of the swap that took Dwight McNeil to Selhurst Park, has split opinion outside the club. Inside the Welsh football fraternity, though, there is a clear belief: this is a stage the 25-year-old can own.
Trundle, who knows both the demands of Merseyside and the mentality of a goalscorer, can barely hide his enthusiasm.
“With Johnson coming in, I think that's a great signing and he's someone I'm excited about,” he said on the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast, nailing his colours to the mast. For him, the fit with Moyes is obvious. “I think Moyes will get the best out of him, I think Moyes is a good manager for him.”
This isn’t blind optimism. Trundle has watched Everton labour through season after season of profligacy. They create. They waste. The pattern has become painfully familiar.
“If you look at Everton, they create a lot of chances, they just don't take the chances,” he said. Johnson, he believes, can break that cycle. “I think if he's in those positions to get those chances, he takes more of them.”
A restless fanbase, a willing No 9
Johnson arrives with a reputation for versatility. He has played wide, he has filled in at wing-back, and he has led the line as a striker. That flexibility has been an asset throughout spells at Tottenham Hotspur, Lincoln City, Nottingham Forest and Palace.
Trundle, an Everton fan himself, sees something more specific in his profile. With Beto and Thierno Barry yet to convince as consistent finishers, he expects Moyes to push Johnson into the heart of the attack.
In short: a proper No 9.
“I think he'll go in, and once he starts scoring, I think the fans will take to him,” Trundle said. He knows what a goalscorer means at Everton. Once you connect, once the ball starts hitting the net, the relationship can turn into something fierce and enduring. “I think he'll love being at a club like Everton because once you get in and score those goals, the fans will idolise you, especially because that's what they've been crying out for.”
The traits are there. Johnson runs in behind, stretches defences, and backs himself in front of goal.
“He will go in behind, he'll score goals himself and create himself as well,” Trundle added, painting a picture of a forward who doesn’t just finish moves but sparks them.
Proven on big stages, tested expectations
Johnson’s CV already carries the weight of big moments. He helped drive Nottingham Forest’s promotion push under Steve Cooper in 2021-22, a campaign that restored Forest to the Premier League and showcased his nerve in high-pressure games.
He then stepped onto the European stage and left his mark. At Tottenham, he won the Europa League, scoring the winner against Manchester United in the final. At Crystal Palace, he lifted the Conference League last season, adding another continental medal to a career that is still in its mid-20s.
Those achievements matter at Everton. A club with a proud history and a 31-year trophy drought is trying to move from survival mode back towards relevance. Players who have crossed the line in big games, who know what it takes to win finals, carry a different kind of authority.
Yet with pedigree comes pressure. Nathan Blake, another former Wales striker, sees both the opportunity and the threat that comes with pulling on that blue shirt.
“Everton fans are demanding,” he said, cutting to the core of the challenge. Trophy or no trophy, expectations at Hill Dickinson Stadium never really dipped. “Whether you like it or not, it doesn't matter if you haven't won a trophy for a long time, that's a big club. I think there'll be more demand on him there.”
Blake welcomes the influence of Moyes and assistant Billy McKinlay on Johnson’s development. Their experience, their structure, their insistence on detail – all of it should sharpen a player entering his prime years.
“Having Moyes and [assistant manager Billy] McKinlay could be a good thing, but if he doesn't produce in the first 10 to 15 games, it catches up with you,” Blake warned. Patience is in short supply on the blue half of Merseyside. “The coaching and the experience of Moyes and his backroom staff, they'll coach him to improve.”
That is the tightrope Johnson now walks.
He arrives as a European winner, a promotion winner, a forward who has already delivered in decisive moments. He also arrives as the man expected to turn chances into goals for a club that has been crying out for exactly that.
Everton have given him four years. The fans, as Blake suggests, may give him far less.
